Total pages in book: 181
Estimated words: 181613 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 908(@200wpm)___ 726(@250wpm)___ 605(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 181613 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 908(@200wpm)___ 726(@250wpm)___ 605(@300wpm)
“How could you tell?”
“Professional eye.” She winks, and for some reason, it makes me blush. “Also, the reason I’d love to know who was behind this is because I need to know if I have some competition on campus.” She throws her arm around my shoulders, casually playing with the knife that was just between my legs. “Besides, I won’t be able to punish them for you if you don’t give me a name.”
“I don’t know,” I reply.
“Oh, c’mon, don’t be coy,” she retorts.
“I’m serious. I don’t know his name.” I swallow. “He calls himself Ghost.”
“Ghost?” she repeats, before bursting out into laughter. “I’m sorry, but that’s corny as hell.”
I throw her arm off my shoulders. “Not my idea.”
“Sorry, I just figured you were into BDSM or something. Though, I admit, I never thought you were the kind of girl to do it in public. I didn’t know you were freaky like that, Aspy.”
“Please keep this between us,” I ask. “And it’s Aspen.”
“Sure, sure,” she replies.
“Don’t tell anyone. Especially not Levi,” I say.
“I won’t tell a soul.” She raises her hands.
I don’t know if I can trust her. After all, she is Levi’s half sister and part of that family. They might be trying to find dirt on us too after our families made it clear we’re all rivals now.
I hold out my hand. “Can I have my knife back?”
She narrows her eyes. “Yours?”
I snatch it away before she can tuck it away.
“No worries. I wasn’t going to keep it. But I am curious …” She smiles wickedly. “Was he good? Good enough to make you want it again?”
My eyes widen, and my face immediately flushes from the heat rushing back to my skin. “Y—no. I don’t …”
She laughs. “Don’t be shy.” She tilts her head. “If you want me to find him and kill him, just ask.”
A knot forms in my throat.
I doubt that’s a good idea, considering the deal I made with Ghost and his intent to murder her half brother.
“I’m good, thanks.”
“All right, if you say so,” she says, walking back up the stairs again. “So you gonna stay and wait for him, or are you gonna go back to the party?”
“Neither,” I reply. “I need a shower. Badly.”
“I can imagine,” she replies.
When she walks off, I ask, “Wait, how did you know I was here?”
She glances at me over her shoulder. “I didn’t. I always go scouting at night.”
“For what?”
She grins. “New places to kill my victims.”
My skin runs cold.
“Have a good one,” she says, her ass swaying from left to right as she walks to the exit like a bad bitch who just doesn’t give a fuck.
And you know what? I don’t even care if what she said was true.
I sneak into the sorority and close the door to my room before I take another breath. It’s like I just got run over by a truck.
I peel my clothes off my body and chuck them to the floor as I walk toward the bathroom and turn on the shower. The pain from the scalding-hot water doesn’t faze me as I step under it. I’m far too focused on my own raging anger that’s slowly boiling over.
That man … whoever he is … will pay for what he did.
We may have made that deal, him and I, but the way he used my body… the way he made me want to beg … was unholy.
I wash my skin with soap, but nothing can ever rinse me of the filth slowly seeping into my body, corrupting me from the inside out.
I can still feel his fingers right there, between my legs, coaxing out the throbs.
Fuck.
This deal will be the death of me.
But I know one thing for sure. After that ghost of mine kills Levi for me, I’m going to make sure he perishes too.
And I don’t care what kind of effort I have to put in to make it happen.
CHAPTER 16
Aspen
Xavier places the fresh flowers on Mavis’s grave. “Thanks for coming with me.” He brushes some fresh tears away and sucks in a breath to mask them, but I’ve already seen them.
I rub his back. “Of course. I needed to see her too.”
“It’s hard, you know? Going to school and pretending nothing happened.”
“I feel like everyone’s kind of moved on and we’re standing still,” I mutter, staring at her headstone. “Like we’re still at the precipice at the top of that hill, holding our breaths, right when she falls.”
Xavier nods. “I’m sorry. I should’ve been there.”
“No, no.” I wrap my arms around him. “Don’t feel guilty. It’s not your fault.”
“I should’ve been there with you guys,” he repeats.
“I’m glad you weren’t because you wouldn’t have survived seeing her there on the rocks,” I say. “Trust me.”
He sucks in a deep breath as I pet him.
“You two need a minute?” Grey steps closer with two fresh cups of coffee in his hands. “Figured I’d get some, but I wasn’t sure if you two were ready yet.”